Bradley-Marquez: The P4P Clash

When Timothy Bradley meets Juan Manuel Marquez this Saturday night, a few old questions will be answered- Speed vs power and old age vs youth will be determined. For Tim Bradley, this fight is much more than any title shot would give him. For Marquez, it is to solidify his glorious career as a class act technician and Mexican warrior. When both meet up this Saturday night in Las Vegas the boxing world will be turned upside down. If Bradley wins, then, he will not only have beaten Manny Pacquiao by decision but his arch nemesis in Marquez. This would mean that Tim Bradley would only be second to Floyd Mayweather as one of the best boxers in the world. Many fans and critics don’t believe Bradley earned his victory against Manny Pacquaio, so what better to prove himself by beating the last man to destroy Manny.

On the other side of this story, a victory for Marquez would make him one of the best fighters of all time. Marquez is already Hall of Fame worthy but before his last fight many critics were waving him off. Too many people believed he would never get past Manny and since he did, a victory on Saturday would mean he could retire with the respect he has earned. So after this fight you have one fighter destined to be one of the greatest fighters in the world, and one fighter on the road to solidify his career as one of the greatest fighters ever.

Here is the tale of the tape. Tim Bradley (30-0: 12 KO) vs Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1: 40 KO) will fight at 147 pounds in the welterweight division. No title on the line as stated before this fight is for much more than titles. Both are at the top on the pound for pound list and look to move up if they win. The fight is being promoted by Top Rank and Bob Arum is predicting numbers for the ppv event to reach 450,000 buys. A respectable number in these days for fighters not named Floyd Mayweather. With “The One” selling record breaking numbers, this fight will only serve as a decent follow up. Still this fight will generate more revenue for the city of Las Vegas and gain more respect for the sport.

The prediction for this fight was hard for me to determine. Both fighters are great in their respective ways. Both have huge wins over great level competition. Both have different styles that they have perfected. Marquez comes in true warrior fashion. He is a natural defensive/counter puncher who isn’t afraid or hesitates to push forward on attack mode and take the fight to his foe. Marquez has been known to have a great chin but has been down often. Marquez still has never been stopped in his career and he has fought some of the best fighters in the world.

Bradley, on the other hand, is a very skillful boxer. Bradley at his best uses crafty footwork and movement to avoid danger. He has out boxed some of the greatest fighters in the world. Bradley has never tasted defeat. He has been counted out of a fight many times and has shocked the world by out pointing Manny Pacquiao. I don’t see either fighter showing us anything different come Saturday night. This bout will be a classic fighter vs puncher. At the end of the fight, only the one with the most will power gets his hand raised. Both fighters have much motivation in winning the fight. As outlined in the popular series 24/7, both are in spectacular shape. DWhat do the fans think will happen? Does Bradley win and solidify himself as one of the best fighters in the world? Or does Marquez win and retire as one of the greatest welterweights of all time? The questions will all be answered this Saturday on HBO pay per view. Don’t miss this one.

On a side note I feel I should add to this article some breaking news as of late. Tim Bradley has been silent about this topic but before the fight was signed he pushed the VADA testing on Marquez and believed he agreed to the testing. Marquez believed he agreed to his own testing and backed out of the VADA testing. The Nevada Athletic commission stepped in and conducted their own brand of testing for both fighters. It should be known that neither fighter has tested positive for PED’s based on the form of testing that has been done. What I can’t understand, however, is that PED testing in boxing is a known issue. The commissions don’t conduct extensive testing as VADA does and a lot goes through the cracks. Is Marquez on something? I don’t believe that he is. It should be known, however, that Tim Bradley thinks otherwise. In a recent discussion, Bradley has stated that he feels that he should have backed out of the fight but wouldn’t because there is too much at stake. He stated that his promotion company has too much money on this fight and him backing out could jeopardize his status with Top Rank. The Heavy Bag truly believes that your promoter should be behind you no matter what the cost. After all Tim Bradley is carrying Top Rank right now due to their issues with boxing’s ridiculous “Cold War.”

The Heavy Bag team is split with 2 of us for Bradley and 2 for Marquez. Win or lose we all think Bradley is a very classy man who carries himself with enough respect to realize his back is against the wall. Bradley will go to war no matter what and if he comes out the winner I for one am willing to sing his praises to the rest of the boxing world.

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About robbase2324

I am a writer for The Heavy Bag where I cover the sport of boxing. I started liking the sport every since I could walk. I grew up watching the great fighters with my dad like Sugar Ray, Hector Camacho, Chavez Sr. to name a few early fighters I watched. My biggest influences are Roy Jones Jr., Oscar de La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, and Parnell Whitaker. I started freelance writing for The Heavy Bag in November. I have many articles on the site covering Jonathan Banks, Gamboa and 50 Cent, Alfredo Angulo, and Hammerin Hank Lundy. I do extensive research before I write on a particular subject before I write my articles. A lot of work us very fact based and I touch subjects in the fighters life that make up them as a person. You can reach out to me via twitter @robbase232401.